The Good Wife: Season Eight in Question as Cast Contracts Expire

by Cindy McLennan, January 22, 2016

As reported, creators of The Good Wife TV series, Michelle and Robert King, are leaving after the show’s current and seventh season. Contracts for stars Julianna Margulies and Alan Cumming are reportedly up at the end of this season, too.

Per Deadline, Matt Czuchry might be the only major cast member signed for the eighth season.

CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller was pretty confident that The Good Wife “can certainly continue” beyond the current seventh season, and producing studio CBS TV Studios has been working on a succession plan, with The Good Wife executive producer Craig Turk tipped to take over showrunner duties from the Kings after working under them for the past few seasons.

I hear Margulies was joking when she told a room full of casting directors last night at the Artios Awards’ tribute to the Kings that “I’m unemployed come April, and I think you haven’t seen me in a while, at least not in person, so I thought I should show up.”

Margulies was not lying — she does not have a contract beyond Season 7 after only adding one extra year at a previous renegotiation. Alan Cumming also is said to have a one-year-deal as he has been doing short-term contracts, while Matt Czuchry is believed to be the only major Good Wife cast member signed for Season 8.

There hasn’t been much movement on negotiating new contracts with the actors that I’ve heard of but things are supposed to start moving soon, and a decision on whether the series will continue or not is expected to be made in the next few weeks so the show — the last broadcast drama to get major awards recognition — can get a proper sendoff. The decision will likely hinge on whether Emmy winner Margulies, who also is a producer on the show, would want to return, something that she certainly raised doubts about with her comments last night, jest or not.

What do you think? Are you a fan of The Good Wife TV show? Should it be cancelled after the seventh season, or renewed for an eighth?

I will miss the Good Wife terribly. The only one that even comes close to it is Madam Secretary, please don’t tell me that will go off, too. I think this is a bad decision for CBS and not the first one they have made this year.

One of my favorites and I think it’s about the only show that I continue to watch on CBS. Whoever is running the network makes bad choice after bad choice. So I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t continue and if they take off Madame Secretary then I officially won’t be watching CBS at all.

Good show! Hate to see The Good Wife added to the “gone too soon” category. If the stars are gouging for more pay – then, sadly, it is what they deserve. (It was an error when Archie Panjabi was removed from the cast.)

PLEASE SIGN CAST MEMBERS FOR THE GOOD WIFE. AWESOME SHOW AND AN ASSET TO CBS AS YOU (CBS) HAVE REMOVED ALL THE GOOD SHOWS FROM AIRING. REPLACED THEM WITH JUNKIE SHOWS THAT WERE DEAD OUT THE GATE. DEMON SHOWS AND SURVIVOR TYPE SHOWS. I WANT A SUBSTANCE SHOW THAT SAYS SOMETHING. NOT JUST GO ON A ISLAND LIKE SURVIVOR. PLEASE KEEP THE GOOD SHOWS WEED OUT REALITY SHOWS.